Martiage and Family in IndiaMarriage and Family in India K.M. KAPADIA Former Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology, University of Bombay THIRD EDITION . CALCUTTA . Oxford University Press o DELHI BOMBAY MADRASOxford University Press, Ely House, London W.1 GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE WELLINGTON CAPE TOWN IBADAN NAIROBI DAR ES SALAAM LUSAKA ADDIS ABABA DELHT BO\BAY CALCUTTA MADRAS KARACHI LAHORE DACCA KUALA LUMPUR SINGAPORE HONG KONG TOKYO Faraday House, P-17 Mission Row Extension, Calcutta 13 © K. M. KAPADIA 1968 KANAIYALAL MOTILAL KAPADIA 1908-67 ee game EPTER EY onl GE dullbPie Lee PGOR Balt £ E a ro Lexy - an Ferg IRM Te Some 7) at “We OND De PRINTED LITHOGRAPHICALLY AT THE ETON PRESS PRI STREET, CALCUITA 5 AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN BROWn, Gai usw vaurensiss PRESS, FARADAY HOUSE CALCUTTA 18.Dedicated to Proressor G. §. GrruryE on the occasion of his 60th birthday as a token of my deep regard and reverence for him as a great sociologist and an inspiring teacherPREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION * In my early study of Hindu Kinship I dealt with some aspects of Hindu marriage and family ; but this was a casual examina- tion of those institutions only, my main interest then being the analysis of Hindu Law in its social context. The present book is an attempt to study Hindu marriage and family in greater detail. The many works that we have on Hindu institutions, social as well as political, are based mainly on the Brahmanic sacred literature and draw only slightly on Buddhist records and travellers’ accounts. Such works are now regarded as lop-sided because any work on social institutions should aim, in the first instance, to be a comprehensive study of the patterns that we find in different parts and among different peoples of the country, unfolding the unity that underlies these patterns and the diversity that makes them unique. Secondly, in any study of Hindu institutions and of their development in the context of the Brahmanic ideals, the more interesting and instructive aspects are those which show the impact of political and economic ideologies and transformations on the institutions during the last hundred years and more. The present study attempts to trace the effect of this impact on marriage and family in different parts of the country. : A proper delineation of social relationships must be based upon classical literature and must take into account all available data concerning the change in patterns of relationships under the pressure of such varied influences as education, urbaniza- tion, ideological clashes, etc. A few of the theses prepared in the School of Economics and Sociology, University of Bombay, were available to me ; but these represent only part of the work done in the country and are regional in their character. I am conscious of the fact that in this book there should be a chapter on marriage rites. These rites differ in performance . from caste to caste, and it is these Jokacaras, and not the tradi- tional rites, that are sociologically significant. The material collected being not comprehensive, the treatment is deferred.x - Preface When the manuscript was prepared the Hindu Code Bill was under discussion in the Legislature, and this is why the Bill has been discussed in this book. The Bill has subsequently given way to the Hindu Marriage and Divorce Bill, which in some respects modifies the provisions of the Hindu Code Bill. The Hindu Marriage and Divorce Bill is examined by the author in a separate brochure ; but its essential points of differ- ence with the Hindu Code are given here in the Appendix. One limitation to the present study is my unfamiliarity with the Arabic language. In the study of Hindu institutions I have been able to go back to the original Sanskrit sources, but in dealing with Muslim insticutions I have had to content myself with the English translation of the Quran and the studies of the leading authorities, Muslim and non-Muslim, on Islam. I have likewise had to draw upon the monographs of anthropologists and others for the marriage and family patterns of tribal peoples. There is an urgent need for more first-hand informa- tion about tribal life under the stresses caused by rapid penetration of their lands and consequent introduction of new peoples and new cultures. Some studies prepared for M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Sociology in the Department throw light on this process; but I sincerely regret that I have had no opportunity so far for field-work myself. I am aware therefore of the several respects in which this work is inadequate, but I hope it may nevertheless go some way in assisting understanding of the evolution of marital and familial patterns in this country. I should be failing in my duty if I were not to express here my sincere thanks to my son and to those of my students who have helped me in the work of analysing the data of my inquiry, to Dr M. S. A. Rao for assisting me in preparing the index and to the University of Bombay for publishing the book in the University Sociology Series. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my debt to all those by whose works I have greatly profited, but individual reference to each one of whom could not be made in the body of this book. K.M. K,PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION Ir is a matter of great pleasure to find that this book has succeeded in fulfilling a long-felt want for a comprehensive book on marriage and family in India, a fact borne out by the warm response accorded to the first edition. This second edition includes a number of observations originally made in my articles, ‘The’ Changing Patterns of Hindu Marriage and Family’, in the Indian Sociological Society’s Sociological Bulletin, vols. 11 and TV. The addition of a section on Kota polyandry which was omitted from the earlier edition, makes the picture of this pattern complete. The author realizes that some of the observations made in this book on the evidence of findings from a small sample are not valid for the large mass of the Indian people. A comprehensive investigation by a team of sociologists is necessary for this purpose. In the meantime, however, these small studies are useful in interpreting and forecasting trends. Though their validity may be limited, their usefulness cannot be gainsaid. . Lot : . K. MX.PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION Tue present edition maintains the substance of the Jast edition ‘bur with certain modifications necessitated by research on the family during the last ten years. The chapter which concluded the previous edition is enlarged and developed into three chapters. The status of woman, and the family in the urban setting, are subjects which were dealt with somewhat cursorily in the previous edition ; they are now treated exhaustively in two new chapiers (11 and 12). In chapter 13 will be found an elaborate discussion of the various trends recently affecting the joint-family and the prospects for its future survival. The data on the matrilineal family (spread over two chapters in the last edition) has been brought together, enlarged and presented im a single chapter (14). The chapter on marriage as a sacra- ment (8) has been thoroughly revised, as has been the portion on the patriarchal family of the Nambudiris in Malabar. It is hoped that the book will continue to meet the needs of students of contemporary Indian society who seek a standard work on marriage and family in this country. Department of Sociolo; University of Bombay KME 1 February 1964CONTENTS DIACRITICAL MARKS ADOPTED IN THIS BOOK we XLV " ABBREVIATIONS we we wae XV Intropuction xix CHRONOLOGY OF Sansxrir Texts A AND Avmons xxxi - 1. Tse Hinvu View or Lire tee tee i 2. ASRAMAS wee vee 4 3. Tue Musuim Socia OvrLoox tee ww. =—-38 4. Ponyanpry we te we (82 5. Porycyny se bee ww. 97 6. SELECTION In MarriacE ve eee WNT 7. Ace at Marriace wee see we 138 8. Huypu Marriace a SAcRAMENT... w- 167 9. Marriace in Istam —... we w. 198 10. Tue Hinpvu Jomr-Famity wee we. 217 11. Tue Status or Woman ... we ws. 250 12. Tue Famiry mw an Urnan Serine ... we 273 13. Recenr anp Contemporary TRENDS AFFECTING THE JoINT-FAMILY ... ves .. 309 14. Tue Matrivingat Famity «. 336 Appenpix: THe Hinpvu Succession Act, 1956 ww. 355 Notes and REFERENCES we wn va 360 BrntiocrapHy we ae wee «. 380 Inpex wee we we .. 389DIACRITICAL MARKS ADOPTED IN THIS BOOK ga @ dh h ze [oR m qa qs a a zt qos gi = th Zios BS a gd m= TrAB. ABORI AGS. AN. Amar. Ant.Papers Ap.D.S. Ap.G.S. BDS. Bhag. Bru. Brh. Br. CALL. Ch.U. Dec.Col.Bul. DhK. _ EBr. ERE. ESocSc. .G.DS. ABBREVIATIONS Aitareya brahmana (Anandagrama Sanskrit Series, 1896; Trs. A. B. Keith: Harvard Oriental Series) Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Aévalayana grhyasiitra (Anandagrama Sanskrit Series, 1923 ; Trs. H. Oldenberg: Sacred Books of the East Series) Atharvaveda sambhita (Ed. S, P. Pandit, 1895 ; Trs, W. D. Whitney and C. R. Lanman: Harvard Oriental Series) Amarako§a (Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 1914) Anthropological Papers Apastamba dharmasiitra (Ed. G. Biihler and M. G. Shastri, 1932; Trs. G. Bithler; Sacred Books of the East Series) Apastamba grhyastitra (Ed. A. C, Sastri, 1928) Baudhayana dharmasiitra (Government Orien- tal Library Series, 1907; Trs. G. Biihler: Sacred Books of the East Series) Bhagavadgita (Anandaérama Sanskrit Series, 1939; Trs, K. T. Telang: Sacred Books of the East Series) Brhadaranyaka upanisad (Anandaérama Sans- kit Series, 1914) Brhaddevata (frs. A. H. Macdonell, rgo4 : Harvard Oriental Series) Brhaspati smrti (Trs. J. Jolly: Sacred Books of the East Series) Cambridge History of India Chandogya upanisad (Anandaérama Sanskrit Series, 1910) Deccan College Bulletin Dharmakoga (Ed. Laxmanshastri Joshi, 1936) Encyclopadia Britannica (14th ed.) Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Encyclopedia of Social Sciences Gautama dharmasiitra (Anandaérama Sanskrit Series, 1931 ; Trs. G. Bithler: Sacred Books of the East Series)XV GGS. HGS. LU. Ind.Ant. JASB. J.AntS.Bom. JEBRAS. JTB.O.RS. J.HQ. JL. JRA. JRAS. JUB. KGS. KS. Kat. Kau. KauB. Kau.U. Kh.GS, LGS. MGS. MU. Mbh. ~ Mit. N.D.S. Abbreviations Gobhila grhyasiitra (Calcutta Sanskrit Series, 193 Heo ayakes grhyastitra (Ed. J. Kirste, 1889) Iopanisad (Anandasrama Sanskrit Series, 1925) Indian Antiqua Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society Journal of the Historical Quarterly Journal of Indian Histor Journal of the Royal ‘Anthropological Institute Journal of the Royal Asiatic Soctety Journal of the University of Bombay Kathaka grhyasiitra (Ed. W. Caland, 1925) Kamasiitra of Vatsyayana (Ed. Gosvami Damodar Sastri, 1929; Kashi Sanskrit Series) Katyayana smrtisaroddhiara (Ed. and Trs. P.V. Kane, 1933) Kautilya arthagastra_ (Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 1924; Trs. R. Shama Sastri) Kausitaki brahmana (Trs. A. B. Keith: Harvard Oriental Series) Kausitaki upanisad (Ed. and Trs. B. D. Basu: Sacred Books of the Hindus) Khadira_ grhyasiitra (Government Oriental Library Series, 1913) Laugaksi grhyastitra (Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies, 1928) Manusamhita (Nirnayasagar Press, 1933 ; Trs. G. Biibler: Sacred Books of the East Series) Manava grhyasiitra (Ed. Knauer, 1897) Mundakopanisad (Anandagrama Sanskrit Series, 1935) Mahabharata (Calcutta edition, 1834) Mitaksara. (Nirmayasigar Press, 1926) Narada dharmagastra (Ed. and Trs. J. Jolly, 1876)1 THE HINDU VIEW OF LIFE ‘Wuar Is REGARDED BY MAN AS THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF THINGS OR the ultimate basis of the universe is generally conceived to be the end toward which his strivings in life are directed. In order to understand, therefore, the Hindu aspirations of life, the Hinda attempt to understand the universe and the prin- _ ciple that sustains it must be analysed. The Rigvedic hymns reflect a phase of religion when nature in its varied aspects is looked to for help and guidance. Storm, rain, thunder, light .and other varied phenomena of nature are regarded as mani- festations or expressions of different deities, each controlling a particular phenomenon, and hence Parjanya as a thunder-god or Mitra or Visnu as a god of light is propitiated for his bene- ficence. The characteristic feature of this Rigvedic religion is that the deity supposed to preside over a particular aspect of nature was tegarded at the time of its invocation as the great- est and highest. This is quite natural. The needs of life of the Rigvedic people in different seasons and at different hours of the day differed. At one moment the need for light made the sages look to Mitra or Savitr with all devotion; the next -Moment the necessity for rain directed their attention and prayers to the god Parjanya. While at dawn Mitra was soli- cited to wake the people and to urge them to activity, in the evening it was Piigan who was entreated to help them in finding their cattle that had strayed away. This practice of extolling _one god above all others, even for a temporary period, is signi- ficant inasmuch as it tends to give rise, in course of time, to he2 Marriage and Family in India a thought which culminates in the conception of one supreme Lord of all beings. And we do find in the later phase of Rigvedic thought the sages struggling to perceive the reality which controlled all beings. inanimate objects and the universe. “In the beginning rete Hiranyagerbba, Bom as the only lord of all existence. ‘This earth he settled firm and heaven esteblished= What god shall we adore with our oblations? it: Oke: than Ie vas tose, Bor avene abo Ie” Although we cannot assert that the Rigvedic sages succeeded in comprehending this one reality, we do discern clearly the conception of one who is the creator, the miler and the preserver of the universe evolving in the Reveda. With this assertion of the unity of the gods and of the world they proclaimed: ‘There is one, they call by many names’ (1 164, +6). The Vedic seers moulded their gods in their own moulds. They lived the life men lived. Hence their ambition in life was a full life here on earth to be followed by an equally happy life in the other world in the company of gods. ‘May we complete the god-ordained period of life ‘May we live a hundred years’ (R-V. 1 89, 8: var 66. 16). And this was natural, as the life offered gold. cattle. sons and grandsons in plenty. With death. whether the flames devoured the body or the earth covered it. the spirit. leaving all imperfections behind it. trod the path which was searched for and found first by Yama for all his descendants and which the fathers accordingly trod; and moved towards a new life. a life that was all the more joyful. Conducted by Savitr and protected round abour by Agni from what was terrible. it crossed the stream and reached the world of ‘eternal light” where Yama sat under a tree of beautiful foliage. engaged in an everlasting bout in the company of the gods. ‘Wafted upwards by the Maruts. fanned by sof breezes, cooled by showers, he recovers his ancient body in 2 complete form. and glorified meets with the fathers who revel with Yama.? The spirit had recurned home: had joined the company of countless ancient fathers. The life of “bliss. delight. joy and happiness” was opened to iz there*The Hindu View of Life 3 ‘The thoughts of the poets of the Rgveda, intent on the happiness of this earth, appear to have rarely dwelt on the joys of the next life, still less on its possible punishments. With exuberance of joy in life here, their imagination could not envisage anything but a happy continuance of life as a com- panion of the immortals in eternal light. This was the lot of the pious, free from sin. The evil-doer was denied this heavenly life; perhaps he was supposed to sink in endless darkness ‘from which none shall ever come up again’. As we pass on from the Rgveda to the Atharvaveda and the Brahmanas we find the concept of unity taking a concrete shape in the person of Purusa, Skambha or Prajapati. In the Brahmanas, Prajapati is said to be the thirty-fourth above the thirty-three gods. He is said to give prowess to Indra. The Purusa, the supreme man in the Rgveda, pervades the world with a fourth part of Himself. All beings come out of Him and He pervades things, animate as well as inanimate. Thus the conception of one great Being, from whom the universe is said to have emanated and who is sometimes described as one with the universe and transcendent, gradually prepares the way for the later polytheism of the Upanisads. While ‘this principle of unity was centred in the person of Prajapati, another principle, namely the sacrifice, was pari passu apportioning to itself an equal place, and we also find ‘the identification of the sacrifice with Prajfipati, who is the creator | par excellence’. At the same time, the sacrificial ritual was gathering round it a mass of elaborate detail with the result that it came to be looked upon as a sort of machine in which every part must tally with the other for its successful operation. The slightest discrepancy in the performance of even a minute detail was believed to render the sacrifice devoid of its efficacy. ‘The Asuras put the bricks in the fire altar with the mark below, in the preliminary rites they shave first the hair, then the beard, then the armpits ; they offer a white victim born of a black mother, and these errors are fatal.”* Evidently the complexity of the ritual and the insistence on the proper performance of even a trivial detail were the logical outcome of a process that tended to make sacrifice a special function of a group in the community.. A section of the community which could afford4 Marriage and Family in India to interest itself in mastering all the intricacies and details was capable of making the sacrifice fruitful to the sacrificer. Emergence of a priestly class was thus made inevitable. The performance of sacrifice in all its varied and complicated details had a sort of magical potency which could give its result only when it was properly handled by an appropriate person. Rigvedic nature worship, with its naive faith and emotional appeal, when associated with the magical beliefs and charms which predominated Atharvavedic thought, culminated in an institution in which the propitiation of a god through sacrifice was replaced by the magical potency of the sacrifice’ itself. Consistent with this view of sacrifice, gods were said to owe their power, glory and even immortality to sacrifice. The gods who found themselves at a disadvantage in their struggle with the Asuras approached Prajapati for help, and he invented rite after rite, the performance of which brought success to them. Even within the divine family ‘the value of knowledge of the sacrifice is the most important thing of all, and the Adityas are superior by far in this and reach heaven before (their rivals) Afngirases, who have to serve them in place of being served by them’. Even Prajapati ‘as the first to sacrifice, is the first to win the reward of sacrifice and to ascend to the sun’. ‘Sifu Ajgirasa was entitled to call the Fathers “ my children” owing to this knowledge of the ritual, as in the Atharvaveda the seer may by insight win the position of the father of his father. ‘Even truth is nothing but exactness in the rites and the formule of the sacrifice, and the decisive thing in their [gods’] tapas is their knowledge of the correct mode of offering.” If the gods derived their prowess and success by their knowledge of the correct mode of performing a rite, it was natural to conclude that there was no power which could arrest or delay the fruition of the desired object once the sacrifice had been performed correctly in its minutest details. Naturally the sacrifice was regarded as almost the only kriy@ or karma. The change in the role cf the god Varuna from the guardian of Rta, the moral order, that he was in the Reveda, to a deity in the Brahmanas ‘ who is constantly ready to punish inaccuracies in the ritual’ and by whom ‘the errors in the offering are at once seized hold of * clearly shows the change from the Rigvedic RtaThe Hindu View of Life 5 _ as the moral power behind the universe to ee sacrifice as the all-important power sustaining the universe,/ «This faith in the sacrifice is encouraged by the long accounts given of the men who flourished by the use, and by the still longer lists of things, which by the sacrifice can be achieved automatically for men by the priests.’ The sacrifice not only ’ conferred material benefits on this earth but even had an im- portant role in the determination of the nature of retribution _ hereafter. Bhrgu, the son of Varuna, was made unconscious and his spirit was sent to see the world to come. He saw, according to the Jaiminiya Brahmana (1 42-4), six scenes: () a man was devouring another man whom he had cut up into pieces ; (ii) a man was eating another, while the latter uttered cries of misery; (iii) a man was eating another, who kept complete silence ; (iv) two women were guarding a treasure ; (v) two rivers, one of blood guarded by a naked man armed with a mace, and the other of butter guarded by men of gold, who with cups of gold drew from it what they desired ; (vi) five rivers covered with blue and white lotuses, ‘with waves of honey, where the dance, the songs, and the lute resounded, where Apsarases disported themselves, and sweet fragrance was wafted” He was then told the significance of these scenes. “The first scene exhibited the fate of those men who, without offering the Agnihetra and without true knowledge, cut wood in the world ; the trees avenged themselves in the other world. The next two scenes represented the animals and the herbs avenging themselves on the persons, who, without proper ritual knowledge, had killed and eaten them. The two women re- presented faith and the lack of faith. In the fifth scene the . iver of blood was the blood of a Brahmin and the naked man the sacrifice. The river of butter was formed from the waters used at the offering. The five rivers in the last scene were the worlds of. Varuna. Bhrgu was thus advised that ‘if a man performs the due offering, the trees in the world to come do not eat him, nor animals, nor rice and barley’. The rule ‘he eats me whom [ eat here’ does not apply to a sacrificer in respect of objects and beings injured by him in the performance of the sacrifice. While a sacrificer gains ‘the river of butter’, “those who do not rightly understand and practise the rites of6 Marriage and Family in India sacrifice depart to the next world before the natural term of their terrestrial life’.° Thus the sacrifice, which incidentally fulfilled all desires of the present life, conferred not only the world of heaven with its life of pleasure and gaiety shown to Bhrgu in the sixth scene but also immortality, that is, freedom from renewed death in the other world of which men are in deep fear.?° The Brahmana period culminated in formalism wherein man’s relations with the ultimate reality were mechanical, a question of give and take. Those who felt disgusted with this cold religion retired into forests where, in an atmosphere free from the suffocating life of sacrifice, they concentrated on that great principle which was the object of inquiry in the later phase of the Rgveda. The early thinkers had conceived of a deity which they named Prajapati, Purusa, Visvakarman etc. and which they had regarded’ as the creator and controller of the world. It was, however, left to the later philosophers to go into the nature of this ultimate reality, and their passionate searchings are embodied in the works called the Upanisads. The principle of sacrifice came to be re-interpreted and allegorized on the one hand, and its futility was indicated on the other, ‘Sacrifices are like those unsteady boats on the ocean of life which may take ne at any time to the bottom of the sca. Those who regard sacrifices as the highest good of the humun lifc, go again and again from old age to death. Living in the midst of darkness these soi-disant wise men move about to and fro like blind men led by the blind." Sacrifices alone do not help man as they give admission only to the world of the fathers, Men are then led back to a new earthly existence atter the fruition of the reward. ‘Day and night consume in yonder world the worth (of good works) for him who does not know this’ (T.B. ur 10, 11, 2). Side by side, the objects and the actions involved in the sacrifice were gradually replaced by symbolic meditations. Instead of sacrificing an actual horse, the dawn was said to be the head of the horse, the sun its eye, the wind its life, the fire its mouth and so on. Similarly, ‘Instead of the common sacrificial fire in which offerings are made, a number of extraordinary fires are pointed out, beginning with the heaven, which has “ the sun as its fuel, theThe Hindu View of Life- 7 solar ray as its smoke, the moon as its cinder”, and so on.’ ‘Real sacrifice consists in making oblations to the prana within us. One who does not know this inner sacrifice, even if he were to go in for a formal sacrifice, throws oblations merely on ashes. . . . Knowing this inner sacrifice, even if he were to give the remnant in charity to a camdala, it will be indeed an offering to the fire (vaisvanara) within him.’ ‘ Actual sacrifice lost its value which now came to be transferred to “ diverse mystical significances and imports” and to the meditation of the symbols as the highest and the greatest.* And through this a transition from the religion of sacrifice to the philosophy of jfiana, which sought to direct man’s mind inwards, was accomplished uninterruptedly. ‘By knowledge they climb upwards Thither, where desite is quenched, - No sacrificial gift reaches thither, No penance of the ignorant.”* The new doctrine of jfiaa taught that Atman (the inmost essence in man), the lord of breaths, is at the same time the lord of the gods, the creator of all beings ; all the worlds are an emanation of this great universal self, Brahman. ‘ Whoever ‘finds even the slightest difference between himself and the Atman, there is fear for him.’ This convictionthat Brahman without and Atman within are one and the same was embodied in the famous aphorisms ‘tat tvam asi’=‘ thou art That’, and ‘aham brahmasmi’=‘I am Brahman’, and was amplified by various similes.“ As from a lump of clay all that is made from clay is-known, so when this Atman is known everything else is known: This universe, the world of nature, Brahman has himself projected out of Himself for sport and it will ultimately return to Him. As’a spider ejects the threads out ’ of.itself and spins its web therewith and again retracts them “when jit desires, so is the world spread out by Brahman from Himself and will be again merged into Him at His will. ‘As the sparks from the well-kindled fire spring forth in thousands so, from the imperishable, living beings of all kinds go forth and again return to Him.’ ‘As the rivers originating from ‘the ocean’ return back: to it and become the ocean themselves, though they do not know that they are so, so do the souls.’ In other, words, these’ are but names and forms, and when8 Marriage and Family in India Brahman is known everything else is known. Atman pervades things as the salt dissolved in water pervades the water. The Upanishadic sages, even when they conceived Brahman as the highest reality, did not ignore the claims of the world of matter. ‘The artistic and poet souls of the Upanisads lived always in the world of nature and never cared to fly out of it. The Upanisads do not teach that life is a nightmare and the world a barren nothing. Rather it is pulsing and throbbing with the rhythm of the world harmony. The world is God’s revelation of Himself. His joy assumes all these forms.’ The reality of this phenomenal world was not inconsistent with the ultimate sole reality of Brahman, as the world did not exist besides Brahman and apart from Him, thus giving rise to duality. ‘As gold is the essence of gold ornaments, Brahman is the reality of the world, its saltasdmanya or common substratum.’ Or, as is still more beautifully express- ed: ‘My son, that subtle essence (of the seed of the Nyagrodha tree) you do not perceive here; but of that very essence this great Nyagrodha tree exists. Believe it, my son, that in what is the subtle essence all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’ All this wealth of similes and images asserted and reasserted the oneness, ta@datmya, between Brahman and the world. The world evolved out of Him when He willed to be many; it is maintained in Him and will ultimately be involved in Him when He so desires. Hence, ‘Wherever they assert that Brahman is the sole reality they are careful enough to add that the world is rooted in Brahman, and as such has a share of teality.’* And yet, ‘ hunger and thirst, woe and delusion, age and death, desire for children and desire for possessions are lumped alike as the evils and vanities of life, before the highest knowledge has been attained” This apparent contradiction was resolved by Yjfiavalkya, who expounded to his wife, Maitreyi: ‘All things of the world, and every relation in the world are dear to us not because of their own value, but because of the Atman, their true essence. Wife, husband, sons, wealth, the high stations of priest and warrior, the worlds, the gods, the Vedas and the sacrifice are dear to us not because of their own valueThe Hindu View of Life 9 but ‘because gf the Atman. As one grasps the tunes of an * instrument with the instrument itself, so are grasped all things when the. Auman is grasped. Truly he that hath seen, heard, recognized and understood the Atman knows the whole world.’ . Hence, ‘ With all attractions, fascinations and beauties of life, life is felt toi be a fetter, or a knot which ties the heart to the world of sense ; and release from the everlasting round of lives is the salvation."* The Upanishadic sages stressed the divine in man, his lawakening to the realization of this divine within himself, and, the consequent submergence of all temporal interests—wife, children, home and property. This knojwledge of the universe being part and parcel of Brahman, of Brahman being the sole ultimate reality and of * Atman being ‘the same as Brahman, emancipates man. ‘As the flowing rivers disappear in the sea, losing their name and form, so a wise man, freed from name and form, goes to the divine person who is beyond all.’ This is a state of rapture and ecstasy, Gnanda, which is the attribute of Brahman. ‘The nature of eternal life is . . . a state of joyous expansion of the soul.” Emancipation in the Upanisads is not a new acquisition nor is it the product or effect of any action. It is the realiza- tion of one’s true nature. Knowledge (jfi@na) is not a means to an end ; it is liberation itself. ‘Emancipation is the natural and only goal of man simply because it represents the true nature and essence of man.’?° _ With this new doctrine of emancipation through jfiang , dominating Hindu thought in the Upanisads, we find a corresponding change in the old theory of retribution. The ‘Brahmanas, or even the Upanisads, do not present a single system of thought. Various viewpoints and diverse opinions have been given in these works showing in some respects a slow evolution and sometimes different attempts and approaches to grasp the true nature of the universe and all that it implies. -We cannot, therefore, describe a single course of evolution or a sirigle system of thought, because there is no such thing in » these works. -We can only attempt to indicate therefrom trends which appear to be consistent and logical. : - In the old theory of retribution it was suggested that the good or evil which we do to anyone here, is done to us in the10 Marriage and Family in India other world. The Brahmanas also say that after the death of a man his good and evil are laid on the scales and ‘ whichever of the two sinks down that will he follow whether it be the good or the evil’*. Naturally all do not find their way to the heavenly world, a view that we find in the Rgveda, but heaven is the world of those who have done good. Others are kept at a distance from the world of the fathers for a longer or shorter period according to their misdeeds. The way to heaven is not easy; ‘The Adityas among others seek to keep back those who aim at heaven.’ ‘The dead leaving this world pass between two fires which burn the wicked but let the good go by.’ This idea of discrimination is also conveyed, though differently, in other passages. ‘The dead is subject to the power of the sun, which is death ; all creatures below it are subject to death, those above are free.’ Hence: ‘The just men are the rays of the sun, and the constellations are appropriated to those good men who go to the world of heaven.’ This return to the world of the sun is found elaborated in the oldest Upanisad: ‘When a man departs from this world he comes to the wind. The wind opens for him a hole as large as the hole of the chariot-wheel, through which he moves upwards and comes to the sun. The sun opens for him a hole as large as the hole of a Jambara, through which he moves upward and comes to the moon. The moon opens for him a hole as large as the hole of a drum, through which he moves upward and comes to a world where there is neither sorrow nor snow and there he stays eternally.’** But what is the exact import of good and evil in these passages? In the passage above, the misdeed was the illtreat- ment of a Brahmin, and a similar action is said to be a misdeed elsewhere too. According to Atharvaveda (v 19, 3, 13), those who spit at Brahmins or cast on them the mucus of the nose sit in pools of blood chewing their hair for food.- The tears which roll down from the eyes of the lamenting Brahmin who has been oppressed are assigned to them as their share of water by the gods. This passage indicates how the superior status of the Brahmin was upheld. But it also indirectly suggests what was considered to be evil. The Brahmanas commonly refer to ‘the world of the pious’, sukrut@m loka, but do notThe Hindu View of Life ab ‘define precisely the nature of sukruta, good deeds. The idea of sukruta is also ‘expressed by the word tsi@piirta in the Vedas and the Brihmanas. But even with the help of that word it is difficult to define the nature of sukruta in the age of the _ Brahmanas. ‘May you (the recently dead) join the Pitrs in the highest heaven.’ ‘May the istépiirta of our ancestors save us (from our enemy).’ Evidently the istapiirta stood for the good a man had done here on this earth, his piety. In the Brahmanas piety consists in the performance of sacrifice, and hence the sacrifice and matters connected with it seem to have been regarded as the ist@piirta of man. ‘When he comes by the devayana path, make you his istapiirta manifest to him. . . . Whatever sacrifice was offered, whatever was handed over (pradanam), whatever was given, and the fees (daksina) offered, may Agni present in all actions place all that in heaven among . the gods for us.’ ‘The Brahmin should sing “ you made gifts, you performed sacrifices, you cooked food (for serving to others)”. Indeed istapiirta belongs to a Brahmin; he makes him (the king) prosper by is¢épérta.’ Even in the later litera- ture ista implied ‘ what is offered in the domestic fire (grhyagni), what is offered in the three sacrificial (rasta) fires and the gifts ' made-inside the vedi’. It is only in the post-Vedic literature that charitable works like the sinking of a well, digging of a tank, building of a temple, construction of a garden, or food- giving came to be denoted by piirta and sacrifice, penance, truth, Vedic study, hospitality, and Vaigvadeva by ista.** Like the Rigvedic world of the fathers to which the dead repaired for immortality, the world of the sun or that of the moon is the destination of the dead in post-Rigvedic literature, and immortality is the summum bonum of life. Immortality is, however, said to last a hundred years, which is the ideal span of life of man in this world. It means then that at the end of that period some fate, the nature of which is not clearly indicated in these works, awaits a man. And it is perhaps because of.this perishable nature of immortality that Naciketas, when he was asked by Yama to choose three boons, desired, as his second boon, the imperishableness of good works. Consis- tent with this view of limited immortality gained by good works, we find in this literature a distinction made between the world2 Marriage and Family in India of gods and the world of the fathers, devayina and Pilryana, one leading to immortality and the other to a limited immor- tality. ‘Those who, living in towns, lead a life of charitable deeds, and perform works of public utility’ travel by the pitryaza ‘from smoke to night, from the night to the dark half of the month, from the dark half of the month to the six months during which the sun moves to the south’ and thence ‘to the world of the fathers, from the world of the fathers to - the sky, from the sky to the moon. Having consumed their accumulation there they return again by the same path.’ On the other hand, ‘those who practise penance with faith in the forest, whether after their death people perform their obse- quies or not’, enter the path of light and “fom night to day, from day to the bright half of the month, from the bright half of the month to the six months during which the sun moves to the north, from these months to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, and from the moon to the lightning. There is a person not-human who carries them to Brahman. Those who proceed on this path know no return to the cycle of human existences.** This picture of the devayana by which the dead ‘reaches regions of ever-increasing light, in which is concentrated all that is bright and radiant, as stations on the way to Brahman’ is compatible with the Upanishadic concept of Brahman, ‘ the light of lights’. The pitryana, as its counterpart, has darkness and gloom, and consistently leads again to life, a condition equally gloomy to the Upanishadic thinkers, While good works lead to the world of fathers, knowledge alone leads to the world of good, the abode of bliss.** Thus, with the Upanishadic doctrine of jfiana, immortality is the preserve of those alone who were jini ; others who indulged in works of piety or austerity were promised a reward of perishable nature. The old idea of renewed births in the other world was thus reoriented into a Teturn to some kind of new life on the consummation of the reward of one’s sukrutam.** The old Rigvedic faint concep- tion of a path leading to the joyless regions enveloped in dark- ness finds more explicit and concrete expression as the third path along with the above two in the Upanisads. It is the fate of the ignorant and the unenlightened, those who haveThe Hindu View of Life 13 destroyed their souls, and of the creatures low in the scale of evolution—worms, insects, tigers, lions, etc.—creatures which . ‘live to die’?7 With this conception of the pitrydna by the side of devayana, the concept of limited immortality starts with the analysis of the nature of return, We have in the oldest Upanisad two interesting dialogues by Yajfiavalkya. Artabhaga asks Yaj- fiavalkya, ‘If after the death of a man his spirit goes into fire, his breath into wind, his eyes into the sun, his mind into the moon, his ear into the ether, the hair of his body into plants, the hair of his head into trees, the blood and semen into water —what then becomes of the man?’ Yajfiavalkya reaches the conclusion: ‘Verily one becomes good through good deeds, evil through evil deeds.’ It is clearly suggested that it is not the body that matters but character that survives the disruption of death. In the second dialogue he elaborates the theory of karma: ‘And as a caterpillar, after reaching the end of a blade of grass, finds another place of support and then draws itself over towards it, so this self also at the end of this life... finds another place of support, and then draws himself over toward it. And as a goldsmith, after taking a piece of gold, chisels out another newer and more beautiful shape, so does this . self, after having shaken off this body and dispelled ignorance, . fashion for himself another newer and more beautiful form, - whether it be of the fathers, or the Gandharvas or the gods, or Prajapati or Brahman, or any other living beings. This self, * then, becomes as his act (conduct) and behaviour has been. He whose works have been good becomes good ; he whose works have been evil becomes evil. By holy works, he becomes holy: by sinful works, sinful.’* The soul is here said to create a new body for himself before he parts with the old one. This new body is a better and more beautiful one in accordance with his holy works and good conduct. The shape of the form to come _ thus depends on the nature of actions and knowledge that follow him. But as against a higher life in divine, semi-divine or human form promised here we find elsewhere birth as a Brahmin,. Ksatriya or Vaigya on a higher plane and as a dog, pig or candala on a lower plane.** And with this, the theory of karma is evolved.14 Marriage and Family in India Emancipation implies freedom from this cycle of births and deaths. In order to achieve this one must attack karma from which this bondage proceeds. Yajiiavalkya shows how this can be done by going to the root of karma. ‘Man is altogether and throughout composed of desires (kama); as are his desires so is his insight (kraiu) ; as is his discretion so are his acts, as is his deed so is his destiny.’ Hence: ‘If the Self has left any desires in him while yet he lives in his body, he returns from his sojourn to this existence again ; if no desires be left in him, he becomes one with Brahman.’ Under the circumstances one must eradicate discretion (kratu) in order to eradicate karma, and discretion is destroyed by eradication of desire. In the final analysis, then, it is desire that binds a man to this world and things worldly and makes him liable to birth and death. The destruction of his desires would, therefore, enable man to free himself from the cycle of births and deaths, to become eternal. Karma is thus only a connecting link between desires and rebirth. Hence: ‘When all the desires that are in his heart are got rid of, the mortal becomes immortal and attains Brahman here.’*° This eradication of desires was possible by the right knowledge of the Self. It was at a later stage in the Bhagavadgita that a new approach was made to this problem of dispensing with the desires. The Bhagavadgita insisted on the sublimation rather than the eradication of desires, and that was to be done by knowing the true nature of karma, Although this short sketch of Vedic thought—from prayer to philosophy—is presented to indicate an evolution of thought, it is not intended here to contend that this is the only correct and rational understanding of Vedic religion and philosophy. Hindu literature abounds in varied approaches and manifold methods of grasping the ultimate reality and of comprehending its true nature. The social philosopher attempts to understand the unity underlying the apparent diversity by seeking conti- nuity of the present with the past, in which it is rooted, and its projection into the future. The Hindu respect for tradition has a meaning and purpose, as it seeks to achieve homogeneity and harmony of thought. The different phases merely represent differences in emphasis at different historical periods. Hindu thinkers themselves gave expression to it when they said, TruthThe Hindu View of Life 15 is dharma in Satyayuga, yajfia in Tretayuga, jfi@na in Dvaparayuga and dana (charity) in Kaliyuga. The Bhagavadgita forms part of the Mahabharata, which depicts the great war fought somewhere about 1000 3.c, and which is supposed to have been compiled in its present form by about A.D. 400, and presents in simple yet sublime words a new philosophy of life, the philosophy of karma. The impor- tance of the Bhagavadgita for the proper understanding of the Hindu outlook on life lies in the fact that all the leading writers of Bhasya, beginning with Sankarcarya, accorded it a place in \ prasthanatrayi along with the Brahmasitras of Badarayana and the Upanisads, in formulating their philosophy. The Gita has a particular significance for a sociologist because the Vedic ideals of sacrifice (yajfia) and knowledge-(jfiana) and the theory of karma developed in the Upanisads are not only co-ordinated, but are given new meaning and significance consistent with the ‘philosophy of karma which is its central theme. The Git also devotes considerable space to the teaching of the cult of bhakti of Vasudeva Krsna which was developing contemporaneously with the Upanisads and rose into prominence at the end of the Vedic period. It was in keeping with the realities of the time that the author of the Giti brought together the various shades of thought and different modes of religious expression in a harmonious blending. It is not presumed here that the Gita ‘ is a synthetic work in which the different systems of Hindu philosophy have been welded into a single whole. But it is asserted that the author seeks to co-ordinate (and he does it successfully) the institution of sacrifice, the philosophy of jitana, the doctrine of karma, the cult of bhakti and other Hindu religious and philosophical conceptions as contributory to the ethical development of man, and thus shows the direction of his spiritual progress. ' The Gita (mr 10-12) refers to yajiia as a means to a desired end. In.the Brahmanas, the sacrifice offered heavenly joys, the summum bonum of life, but, by the time of the Gita, heaven “had lost its ancient glamour. It was a temporary sojourn of the spirit for the consummation of the rewards of meritorious “acts. The Upanishadic philosophy of emancipation through16 Marriage and Family in India 1 jfiana had minimized the significance of sacrifice, and conse. quently the sacrifice was reinterpreted as al meditation of Brahman. The Gita refers to this when it says: ‘It is made to Brahman, Brahma is the offering which is offered by Brahman in the fire that is Brahman: he, who meditates on Brahma-karma goes to Brahman.’ But it extends the scope of the allegory by such new concepts as tapoyajfia, yogayajiia and svadhyayayajfia. ‘ All those, conversant with the sacrifice, have their sins destroyed by yajfia. Those who eat the nectar-like leavings of the sacrifice repair to the external Brahman. Sacrifice was desirable because those who perform no sacrifice do not gain this world, much less the other worlds. But it was not the sacrifice performed with material things: ‘The sacrifice of knowledge is superior to the sacrifice with material things because karma in entirety is comprehended in jfiana’ (tv 24-33). But the Gita still further enlarges the meaning and significance of sacrifice. The seasonal sacrifices and the sacri- fices which were continued over months and even years under the superintendence of a group of priests had become rare, if not obsolete, by this time. Yer every householder was duty-bound to perform a daily sacrifice in the sacred domestic fire-which was kindled at the time of marriage. This domestic sacrifice had a different significance inasmuch as it had a social import. ‘The good, who eat the leavings of a sacrifice, are released from all sins. But the unrighteous ones, who prepare food for them- selves alone, incur sin. Food supports (all) creatures. Food is produced by rain. Rain proceeds from (the performance) of sacrifice’ (ut 13-14). Sacrifice thus conduces to the prosperity of men, and it is in the interest of the community that the sacrifice gets its new significance in the post-Vedic era. The Gita likewise refers to the philosophy of jfiana, know- ledge of Brahman, for liberation, but reorients it in terms of karma. ‘ Even if you are the most sinful of all sinful men, you will cross over all trespasses by means of the boat of knowledge alone. Asa fire well kindled reduces fuel to ashes, so, O Arjuna, the fire of knowledgé reduces all actions to ashes. . . . He who is ignorant and devoid of faith, and whose self is full of mis- givings, is ruined. He who is given to doubting attains neither this world nor the other nor happiness. Actions do not bindThe Hindu View of Life 17 one who has known himself, who has destroyed his misgivings ‘by. knowledge and who has renounced action by Yoga’ (v 36-41). The Gita talks of a Yogi ‘who finds his happiness inward, who seeks his recreations within (himself), who turns to his light inward, who, becoming one with Brahman, attains Brahman’ (v 24). Such a Yogi, ‘ who is solely engrossed in Self and who is contented in Self, has no actions to perform. He _has no interests served by either doing actions or non-doings’ {mi 17-18). But the Gita gives new meaning to the philosophy of jfiana when it demands even a Jani to perform his duties and be a man of the world, though not of it. For this concept of a Jani, the Gita falls back upon the old Upanishadic tradi- tions and looks to Janaka and others like him as the real representatives of the enlightened. The unattached Yogi has to perform actions for the benefit of the people, ‘ Whatever good a (higher) man does, others do also; what he makes authoritative (by his behaviour), people imitate’ (m 20-21). His behaviour becomes the standard for others to emulate. They thus evolve the mores and hence are the real guides of society. It is because of this role of the enlightened that Lord Krsna says: ‘Should J at any time not engage myself without sloth in action, men would follow my line in every way. If Ido not perform actions these worlds would be destroyed ; I should be the cause of intermixture of castes and I should be ruining people’ (mt 23-24). Though a pertinent reference has been made here to the observance of the duties of varna as a proper norm, the contention of Lord Krsna was to emphasize the need of action even by the enlightened for social stability. The very next verse reads: ‘As the unenlightened act with attachment (to the fruits of karma), so should the enlightened act unattached, intent on the welfare of the world.’ In view of this great task imposed upon the enlightened in the interest of the community, it is but necessary that these chosen leaders of society should be men of stature who would meet their obligations. And this is what the Gita expects these leaders to be. A Jfiani is one who looks upon all equally. To him, a man or an animal, a male or a female, a Brahmin or an untouchable, makes no difference. With this outlook of equanimity towards all, irrespective of any consideration, he 218 Marriage and Family in India must be positively interested in the welfare of all beings. It is not only that his humanity should be ‘broad-based but it must have equally sufficient depth. He seeks to understand all situations by ascertaining how he would have felt or reacted under similar circumstances (v1 29, 32; cf. 40). A man with this appreciation of humanity, vision of his objectives and dis- interestedness in his doings, is capable of appreciating the enormities of inequality in any form and in any field of life. Inspired by the laudable motive of guiding people to their proper duties in life, the Yogis take to karma, actions, as a social obligation. The author of the Gita has given a new meaning to and has enlarged the scope of the Vedic sacrifice and the Upanishadic jfana, But his greatest contribution is found in his reading of the doctrine of karma and in his proper appreciation of karma in the realization of spirituality in man. In order to cut short the operation of the law of karma, the Upanisads re- commend the destruction of the desire in man which is the root of karma, Karma comes in the way of the realization of spirituality because, in the Upanisads occasionally and in the post-Vedic Manusarnhita and the Mahabharata predominantly, the rewards and punishments of karma are linked with birth in a higher or a lower caste. Those with good actions to their credit are said to be reborn into higher castes ; those with evil actions into the lowest castes or even as animals. Karma implies a recurrence of births and deaths, and liberation means putting an end to this cycle by destroying karma through the eradication of desires. The Gita, on the other hand, reorients this pessimistic outlook and shows how kerma can unfold the inner spirituality and thereby contribute to the supreme goal of emancipation. It is said: ‘O dear friend, none who does acts of (general) welfare comes to an evil end. He who has fallen from Yoga attains the world of those who perform meritorious acts, dwells (there) for many a year and is after- wards reborn in a family of the pious and the rich. Nay, he is born in the family of the enlightened (dhimatat yoginam); such a birth as this is more difficult to obtain in this world. There he is contacted with the knowledge which belonged to him in his former life. and enlightened as he is. he strives forThe Hindu View of Life 19 " a’higher (perfection) than that. . . . Striving with greater efforts and freed from his sins he attains perfection after many births ‘and then attains the supreme goal’ (v1 40-45). The reward of karma, according to this passage, is both material and spiritual, but it is the spiritual progress which is emphasized as the indivi- dual is said to gain in ethical development at the end of every birth. This stress on the ethical development of an individual after a number of births gives a new meaning to the doctrine of karma. A progressive realization of spirituality in man, _instead of material gains by birth in a higher caste, is a distinct- - ly new and better appraisal of karma for the development of personality, and hence in its randing of karma doctrine the Gita strikes a new path, The doctrine of karma as presented in the Giti has two ‘aspects: a positive one which confirms the inexorable law of karma and a negative one which absolves a man of his sins of omission and commission through the grace of God. The negative view is the product of two trends anterior to the Gita which welds them into a cult of bhakti in such superb language and sentiments that the Gita is rightly regarded as the best of Hindu scriptures in the Vaisnava circle. It was clearly suggested earlier that neither the Brahmanas nor the Upanisads propound a single doctrine or a system of thought but they contain in them various doctrines and viewpoints cither explicitly developed or vaguely hinted at. We have referred to some views regarding life after death in the Brahmanas and their final culmination in the doctrine of karma in the Upa- nisads. But we have not referred to an old view of karma which Hopkins sums up in these words: ‘Man owes what he gets to the gods. What the gods arrange is, whether good or bad, the appointed lot ; the arrangement, vidhi, is fate. If the gods bestow a share, bhaga, of good upon a man, that is his bhagya, luck, divinely appointed, dista. As divine, the cause is daiva, which later becomes fate.’®? According to this view, good fortune or misfortune in this life is not the inevitable conco- mitance of one’s own actions but the result of the grace or will of God. Secondly, ‘for ordinary people, an adorable object, with a more distinct personality than that which the theistic, portions of the Upanisads attributed to God, was neces-20 Marriage and Family in India sary and the philosophic speculations did not answer practical needs’. It seems that the worship of Vasudeva had gained currency in the time of Panini. By the second century 3c. the Bhagavata religion with the worship of Vasudeva of the Vrsni race as the God of gods prevailed in the north-westem part of India. In the Mahabharata, it is said that ‘Hari, the God of gods, is not to be seen by one who follows the sacrificial mode of worship, nor by persons who practise austerities for thousands of years but by one who worships Hari with devo- tion’. Ina later account of this story Hari is replaced by Vasu- deva and his three other forms (vyithas), and the Supreme Narayana identifies himself with Vasudeva in his four forms.* Thus the view of daiva as God’s favour was associated with this new religion of the Bhagayatas and found expression in the Bhagavadgita as the cult of bhakti of Krsna, which was the only sure means of deliverance from the operation of the law of karma. The man who whole-heartedly dedicates everything to Krsna is emancipated irrespective of his karma. ‘Those who dedicate all their actions to me and hold me as their higher goal, those whose minds are directed to me alone and to none else, those whose mind and intellect are concentrated in me, are my devotees and hence dear to me‘ (xm 6, 14). It is this bent of mind, this unsullied devotion that counts and not the nature of offerings made to the Lord. ‘I am satisfied with leaf, flower, fruit or water that is given to me devoutly by my devotee’ (cx 26). If a person is not capable of attaining this height, he is promised his redemption so long as his acts spring from the desire to propitiate the Lord, “matkarmaparo bhava’. ‘ What- ever you do, O son of Kunti, whatever you eat, whatever sacri- fice you make, whatever you give (in charity), whatever penance you perform, do (all) that as offered to me.’ ‘Thus by dedica- tion of all acts to the Lord a person is relieved of the rewards or punishments of acts’ (Ix 27, 28; xm 10). ‘Those who worship me with devotion (dwell) in me, and I too in them. Even if a man of very ill conduct worships me, not resorting to anyone else, he must certainly be deemed to be good, for he has well resolved. Even those who are of sinful birth, women, Vaisyas and Siidras likewise, resorting to me, attain theThe Hindu View of Life 21 _ supreme goal. My devotee is never ruined’ (1x 29-32). The author of the Gita recognizes the prevalent distinction based on sex and those between the privileged—the Brahmins and the Ksatriyas—and the unprivileged—the Vaigyas and the Siidras—classes, and secks to mitigate the tension between these groups by promising to the downtrodden an opportunity of redemption. In so doing the author shows the greatness of the ‘bhak#z cult which is open to all, irrespective of sex or status, and can be utilized to one’s advantage with great case. The cult, as preached in the Gita, does not insist that the mental equipment of a person be so much in tune with eternity as with his faith in the Lord and with the relation arising out of it. “Onc who lacks in fnith, who is a sceptic, destroys himself’ (Iv 39, 40; vi 47). The greatness of bhakti over other religious practices is affirmed by Lord Krsna in his saying to Arjuna: ‘I can be “seen as you have scen me, not by (means of) the Vedas, not by penance, not by gift, not even by sacrifice ; by exclusive devotion to me alone, I can in this form be truly known, scen and entered into.’ Hence: ‘Leave aside all (other) dharmas and seck only - my protection.’ ‘(Engage your) mind in me, become my devotee, sacrifice to me, bow to me, make me your highest goal ; by so engaging yourself you will reach me’ (xt 53, 543 XVIII 66 ; x 34). _ Even when the Gita has so elaborately and in such superb language dealt with bhakti, holding out promise of redemp- ‘tion to everyone, the author has not failed to lay stress on the ethical development of the devotee. ‘He who performs acts relating to me, who regards me as the highest goal, who is my devotee, who is unattached, who has no enmity towards any being, comes to me, O Son of Pandu’ (xr 55). In the chapter specifically called Bhaktiyoga we find this insistent demand on the ethical development of the devotee. The devotee is a person who restrains his senses, who has no discriminating attitude towards anybody, who is intent on the good of all, who hates no being, who is contented, who is friendly to all, compassionate cand forgiving, and from whom people expect no affliction. He _ does not experience joy or aversion, gricf or hilarity ; to him happiness or misery, the auspicious or the inauspicious, joy or anger, fear or agitation, are alike. He has nothing he can call22 Marriage and Family in India ‘mine’: he expects nothing. He does not feel that he is the agent of anything; he is indifferent; he is free from any attachment (xm 4, 13-16), This equipment of a devotee in no way differs from that of a Yogi living a life of karma or that of a Jaani in the Gita (¥ 3, 7, 20; IV 21, 22, 23; Vi29). And this is the central point of synthesis of the different religious forms and philosophical theories. The Git insists on the ethical development of man. This perfection of the individual is not possible for all and hence it prescribes, for the weaker section of humanity, ethical development by the dedication of all actions and all objects of material interest to the Lord; thus becoming immune to the attachment of the world and things worldly. The Cita touches upon the traditional modes of salvation and also refers to the traditional doctrine of karma, All are co- ordinated, synthesized and harmonized as being the different ways, suited to the various facets of human mind and to the different stages of development in the case of the same indivi- dual, of cultivating disinterestedness in the world and things worldly. Yet the Gita insists that a man cannot attain his freedom by not engaging himself in action or by mere renun- ciation, because one cannot cease performing actions even for a moment. Even a Jiiani would be constrained to perform actions by the gunas born of prakrti. But he knows that he is not the agent of the actions. which in every way are done by the guras of nature (prakrti), sattva, rajas, and tamas, When a man realizes this fundamental truth he becomes niraham karah, bereft of the pride that he is the agent, and is not bound by actions because to him they are the interplay of guras. As his actions are performed with complete detachment, he has nothing to call ‘mine’. He is nirmama. When he ha: nothing to call ‘mine’ he overcomes raga, attachment, and dvesa, prejudice. Attachment is the product of the raja: quality in man and conduces to desire, greed, etc. Prejudice is the product of the tamas quality in man which conduces tc anger. When a man overcomes attachment and prejudice he controls the rajas and the famas qualities in him, the non-divine (suri sampat). When the two qualities are thus subdued the third, the sattva, predominates. The divine in him, DaiviThe Hindu View of Life 23 : sarnpat, stands out prominently. Hence is it said, ‘ Attachment to gunas binds man to the cycle of births and deaths.’ ‘One -who is above the gunas liberates himself.’ The life of actions lived with this perspective of the real nature of karma makes man free from the operation of duandva. There is nothing . which he can call a good action or a bad action, He is not overjoyed by prosperity nor is he cowed down by calamity. There is no one whom he would call his friend against another _ whom he would regard as his enemy. He is not only samadar&, who regards all equally, but nirvairah, who bears no enmity towards any one, and Asami, forgiving all. This stage of equa- nimity is attained by performing actions without any idea of reward proceeding from their performance and is called yoga, samatvam yogamuicyate, The Gita thus shows different approaches leading to the same ‘goal, namely disinterestedness, which really conduces to the realization of one’s true nature. And this goal is achieved by man by continuing to perform the actions from which there is no escape. Karma is therefore the central theme of the Gita, -and the greatness of that great work lies in fact that it makes the world and worldly things real and inevitable. The Gita preaches neither escape from life nor repression of man’s urges. That philosophy of yoga where yoga means the restraining of the activies of mind (v1 20) is not accepted by the author of the Gita. The Giti, on the other hand, defines yoga as pro- ficiency in the performance of the armas. It insists on a-normal life which promises the realization of spirituality and shows how the higher purpose of life can be realized in and through society.